In the UK, they want to check all housing from 100 thousand pounds in search of "dirty" money from abroad

Last week, a bill "On Crime Finance" was submitted to the British parliament, which allows the country's authorities to arrest hundreds of real estate and other valuable assets that could be purchased for illegally received money. This was reported by The Guardian newspaper.

According to the National Criminal Agency of Great Britain, up to £ 100 billion of “dirty” money can be laundered annually in the kingdom. Most of this amount falls on real estate, but is also invested in luxurious cars, art items and jewelry.

As explains The Guardian, the new bill is designed to close a loophole that did not allow the British authorities to arrest and confiscate the property of foreign criminals if they do not have a criminal record in their homeland. The document introduces the concept of "wealth of inexplicable origin" into the British law.

In accordance with it, the British anti -corruption and tax authorities will be able to apply to the Supreme Court so that it forced the owners of suspicious assets to explain where they take funds for such acquisitions. It is expected that the checks will be subjected to assets worth from 100 thousand pounds. If the owner cannot convince the court that the purchase was made on legal income, this property may be confiscated.

It is explained that this law is aimed not only at crime representatives, but also at politicians and officials who are engaged in corruption. In case of successful passage in parliament, the law may enter into force in the spring of 2017.

Recall that the development of this bill began last year after the release of a resonant TV investigation "from Russia with cash" on the purchase of housing from Russia in London for corruption money. The new round of the scandal around this topic spun this year after the publication of the Panama Dossier, when it turned out that rich foreigners from around the world buy real estate in the UK through offshore companies, including taxes. The new mayor of London Sadik Khan promised to increase the fight against dubious investments in British real estate.

Meanwhile, experts believe that it is too early to say how in practice real estate checks from 100 thousand pounds will take place, under which almost all houses in London fall. But there are assumptions from which the authorities will begin: “I think that over 30 million pounds will begin to check for real estate, which owners from the third world countries own, from Africa, Eastern European countries, Russia, Central Asia, China. So far, the market is in any way reacting to this information, now the market has reacted more than the pound fell by 18%,” the BFM.ru expert said the British expert Real estate from Londondom.com Egor Shishkovsky.

As you know, since March 2016, US authorities have already been engaged in a serious check of buyers of elite housing.